Tag Archives: gluten-free

Passover is a prime time for gluten-free food, since foods that are kosher for Passover do not contain wheat, rye, barley, spelt or oats — although the big exception is that wheat is used in regular matzah and in products using matzah meal or cake meal.

While many Passover products have always been gluten-free, in the past they have used the Yiddish term “non-gebrokts,” which indicates that no matzah (i.e. wheat) was used in the product. But now many Passover brands are recognizing the gluten-free appeal and specifically labeling their products as gluten-free.

Kedem Food Products began introducing products specifically labeled as certified gluten free five years ago, when it introduced Yehuda Gluten Free Matzo-Style Squares (a great gluten-free matzah). Now, many of Yehuda’s products are certified gluten-free, bearing the GIG’s “Certified GF” logo, meaning they’ve been tested to contain less than 10 ppm of gluten. I’m always more confident in buying a food when I see the certified GF logo.

“It started with Yehuda Gluten Free Matzo Style Squares, and grew from there,” notes Harold Weiss, Kedem vice president of sales, in a press release. “Fast forward five years, and we have a complete offering of gluten free items under various brands including cereals, candies, cake mixes and ingredients all certified GF and many now available year round.”

Like this:

I’ve posted a couple of variants on meringues, but these were our prettiest yet, deserving of their own post. Plus, these meringue cookies make for a quick and easy gluten-free, dairy-free Passover dessert, requiring no special equipment or ingredients — pretty much just eggs, sugar and a mixer.

Piping these meringues seemed like a pain, so my daughter and I originally started by scooping spoonfuls of meringue and flinging the sticky meringue onto a baking sheet. But we found out that piping actually was so much easier and prettier. All you need are disposable pastry bags and a large star tip — OK, and some practice piping, because it does take a while to perfect the skill. (I highly recommend taking a cake decorating class if you foresee making a lot of gluten-free birthday cakes or desserts in your future.)

Meringues are true sugar cookies because the main ingredient is, well, sugar. My youngest daughter is crazy for them.

My oldest daughter is trying a low-FODMAP diet to help with her non-celiac stomach issues, so these meringues are a good low-FODMAP dessert. (FODMAPs are types of carbohydrates that are sometimes poorly digested by the small intestine, causing irritable bowel symptoms like pain, bloating and gas when they pass into the large intestine. … Sorry if I just killed your meringue sugar buzz, but it’s good to know about FODMAPs because they will be increasingly in the health news.)

“Chicken, again?!” is a refrain I hear a lot in my house, especially from my oldest daughter … not that I’m pointing fingers or anything.

Let’s face it — unless you are a vegetarian — chicken makes for a good dinner: It’s easy, high in protein, filling and most people like it, so it’s good for guests. But sometimes, it can be rather run of the mill.

Here’s a quick and easy recipe that will elevate your weeknight chicken dish with a burst of flavor: chicken breasts baked with babganoush. The Mediterranean eggplant spread lends its slightly garlicky and smoky flavor to enhance chicken. Plus, the coating of babaganoush helps seal in juices, making for a more moist, flavorful chicken breast.

The awesome folks at Joy of Kosher asked me to develop a recipe using one of Sabra’s Mediterranean salads, for their #ShareSabra campaign. I was happy to, since all of Sabra’s products are gluten-free. Sabra’s babaganoush does not contain sesame, which is a bit untraditional but good with our family, since my father is severely allergic to sesame and I tend to stay away from it out of habit.

To make the chicken, spoon babaganoush on top of each chicken breast, so the top of each breast is evenly covered with a thick layer of babaganoush. Sprinkle the tops with paprika and some fresh parsley, and bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. (You can try this same technique using hummus instead of babaganoush.)

With babaganoush that is labeled kosher for Passover, this dish becomes a quick way to brighten up the Passover table with a burst of flavor. You can’t beat that for ease and convenience.

This post is sponsored by Sabra, but all opinions are my own. With Joy of Kosher’s #ShareSabra contest, you could win $200 just by sharing photos of your food, your family and your friends (and it does not need to be with a Sabra product).

Recently, the folks at Udi’s sent me a box of gluten-free goodies as part of their “Random Acts of Udi’s” promotion. They sent bloggers different sampler boxes of Udi’s gluten-free treats to use or to give to friends and then to describe their experiences.

Although we were initially tempted to keep the goods to ourselves, it was a lot of fun to share them with our gluten-free friends. I always feel an instant bond with anyone who has celiac, so we were thrilled to be able to share the love.

Because I divvied up the products — giving friends baggies of different items, instead of giving them a whole box to take home — it was hard for them to keep track of what was what. If I had to do it again, I would have given them the whole box and not divided it into “bits and bobs,” as my British friend would say. That’s our fault for being greedy and wanting to try a little bit of everything.

Our kids and our friends also liked the new Udi’s chips, with ancient grains like millet, amaranth and quinoa and fun flavors that pop in your mouth. The Jalapeno Cheddar chips were quite spicy and flavorful, and we also liked the Aged Cheddar ones. The new “Active” granolas were good, too, with a few added nutrients (missing from some gluten-free diets) like zinc. I have to say, though, that the Mighty Bagel with millet, flax, dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds didn’t appeal to most people. I am a traditionalist when it comes to bagels — even gluten-free bagels.

Overall, it was fun to share the items, and our friends had fun testing them out. As my father-in-law noted (thanks, Pop), the exciting part is how much more tasty and complex gluten-free foods are getting. Udi’s has added some fun flavors, ancient grains and nutrients to spice up gluten-free products, giving them more pizzazz, for which we are thankful.

This month, the Kosher Connection challenge is Super Bowl foods/finger foods. I knew right away that we had to include this recipe for hot and spicy cauliflower Buffalo wings — a vegetarian version of Buffalo-style chicken wings slathered in hot sauce. The cauliflower wings are gluten-free and can also be made dairy-free, making them a great appetizer for all.

Last summer, we took a road trip to Rochester, NY, to visit family. We ate dinner at The Owl House, which offers a large selection of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dishes. We ordered the cauliflower wings and, surprisingly, my daughters gobbled them up, even though they were incredibly hot. My oldest daughter asked to make the recipe at home, which we did over New Year’s.

These cauliflower wings have the same spicy hot flavor as Buffalo chicken wings, but they are vegetarian, baked not fried, and made gluten-free and guilt-free. Plus, you don’t have to pick up the chicken wings and try to gnaw the meat off the bones, getting your hands full of hot sauce in the process — something I never liked very much.

Traditionally, Buffalo wings are served with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing to cool your palate. But I can’t abide blue cheese, so I’ve included a recipe for homemade herby dressing made with Greek yogurt, as a healthy alternative.

If you are making a dairy-free meal, just omit the dip. Also, I’ve made this recipe both with almond milk and with whole milk. I don’t know if it was just the luck of the draw, but when I made it with whole milk, the batter around the cauliflower started to turn too brown, where it was a nice golden color using the almond milk. Also, I used chickpea (garbanzo) flour to impart a little nuttiness, but any gluten-free flour (or regular flour, if you eat gluten) is fine.

Since these gluten-free cauliflower Buffalo wings are hot and spicy, they pair excellently with beer (gluten-free beer, of course). The red hot wings make a nice nosh during the Super Bowl — especially during the half-time show with the Red Hot Chili Peppers (the part I am looking forward to).

For Super Bowl and finger food recipes from other bloggers (please note that not all are gluten-free), please check out the Kosher Connection linkup by scrolling to the end of this post and clicking on the frog icon below, which will take you to a page with thumbnails of other Super Bowl/finger food recipes.

When some people think of comfort food, they think of meatloaf, mashed potatoes or tuna casserole. You certainly won’t find any of those on my list. Yet, when the Kosher Connection asked food bloggers to create a recipe for comfort food, I had a hard time figuring out my favorite comfort food. Chicken soup is my go-to food when any of us is feeling sick, but I’ve already posted a recipe for gluten-free matzo ball soup. And while I would find comfort in a huge plate of gluten-free brownies, that would be kind of embarrassing to admit (plus, I’ve already posted a recipe for the best gluten-free brownies ever).

But breakfast and brunch foods always make me happy, whether it’s French toast, pancakes, an omelet, egg skillet or homemade hashbrowns. So I decided to post a recipe for comforting gluten-free French toast.

French toast is pretty easy to make, and gluten-free bread soaks up the egg mixture nicely (although not as well as soft challah). Gluten-free bread tends to be small in size, so you can use six slices of bread to two eggs, whereas a typical recipe might use four slices of wheat bread to two eggs.

I amp up the flavor by adding vanilla extract, cinnamon and nutmeg (because almost any food is better with vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg). The French toast can easily be made dairy-free by using almond milk for soaking and non-dairy buttery spread or coconut oil for frying.

Although French toast seems supersweet and indulgent, this recipe does not contain any added sugar. When topped with fresh fruit, it makes a healthy breakfast. Or drizzle on pure maple syrup for a little indulgence and extra comfort.

To see comfort food recipes from other Kosher Connection bloggers (though not all are gluten-free), click on the frog icon below:

Place a slice of bread in the egg mixture and let sit for 30 seconds to soak up the egg. Poke bread with tines of a fork several times to help the egg penetrate the bread. Flip and repeat on the other side.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a frying pan or griddle pan over medium heat. Place several slices of egg-coated bread in the pan and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook until the other sides are golden brown.

If you are cooking a second batch, add more butter to the pan before adding the bread.

We had an early Hanukkah celebration over the weekend (as if Hanukkah wasn’t early enough this year), and these gluten-free, dairy-free butternut squash latkes were the surprise hit of the night. Moist and flavorful, they stole the show, leaving the ordinary potato latkes sitting on the plate. Spiced with cumin, curry and cinnamon (the perfect trifecta of spices), the latkes have a slight pumpkin taste that’s perfect this year for Thanksgivukkah.

It’s actually easier to make butternut squash latkes than potato latkes, because the squash can be peeled and cut in advance, it doesn’t turn brown when exposed to air and it doesn’t weep water like grated potatoes do. While potato latkes are traditional, Hanukkah is about the miracle of the oil, not about the miracle of potatoes. So fry these butternut squash latkes in some oil and create a new Hanukkah tradition.

About Gluten-Free Nosh

Sharing recipes, tips and experiences forgluten-free families

My youngest daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease when she turned 2. In the past seven years, we’ve learned how to create gluten-free versions of our favorite foods and traditional Jewish foods and how to navigate through restaurants, school and birthday parties gluten-free.